Thursday, October 24

Channel 4 to unveil deeper job cuts as advert downturn bites

Channel 4 will announce plans this week for deeper-than-expected job cuts amid a steep downturn within the broadcast promoting market.

Sky News has learnt that the state-owned broadcaster will say on Monday that it’s chopping almost 250 roles, a determine equating to simply over 15% of its full-time workforce of greater than 1,300 folks.

Industry sources stated this weekend that whereas the variety of folks being made redundant could be roughly 200, according to earlier stories of the cost-cutting, near a further 50 roles had been additionally being axed by chief government Alex Mahon.

It is anticipated to be the largest bloodletting within the historical past of Channel 4, which launched in 1982 and which got here near being privatised final yr.

Ministers finally determined in opposition to promoting the corporate regardless of having employed bankers from JP Morgan to supervise an public sale.

This week’s job cuts will have an effect on a variety of departments on the Gogglebox and Great British Bake-Off producer.

Ms Mahon has described the advert market’s decline as “market shock territory” for the corporate.

A Channel 4 spokesperson stated it was “a wholly commercially funded and self-reliant broadcaster known for producing iconoclastic programmes and generating enormous value for the UK creative economy”.

“Like each organisation, we’re having to take care of a particularly unsure financial system within the quick time period and the necessity to speed up our transformation to change into an entirely digital public service broadcaster in the long run.

“As a result, we need to continue to divest from our linear channels business and simplify our operations to become a leaner organisation.”

Content Source: information.sky.com